Programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), may be used to perform various processing and logic operations in a wide variety of applications. In this regard, PLDs generally include logic blocks which may be configured to provide user-defined features. However, in certain implementations, PLDs may further include one or more digital signal processing (DSP) blocks implemented by dedicated hardware to provide additional processing. Such DSP blocks may be used, for example, to provide fast processing of signals provided by the user-configurable logic blocks or other signals received by the PLD.
However, various existing DSP block designs often fail to provide flexibility in the routing and synchronization of signals between the DSP blocks and other portions of the PLD. For example, when performing operations that depend on the results from multiple DSP blocks, certain existing DSP block designs often exhibit significant latencies due to the time required to latch intermediate results between multiple pipelined DSP blocks.
Certain existing PLDs may be implemented with a finite number of DSP blocks arranged in a plurality of rows, with each row including a plurality of DSP blocks. However, when a desired operation requires the use of more DSP blocks than are available in a given row, such PLDs typically do not provide a convenient way for signals of one row to be routed to another row. Such limitations can unduly complicate the processing performed by PLDs.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved DSP block implementation that provides improved flexibility over previous DSP block designs. In particular, there is a need for such a DSP block implementation that addresses the concerns associated with existing DSP block designs.